We then discussed the idea of playing once more when Siege and Nero came, and Dex took himself out of the water, got a net, along with an inflatable volleyball from the pool house, having us set to play in teams of two.
I didn’t expect it at all when Dex suddenly went to Nero’s side, claiming him as his teammate, much to Siege’s disappointment.
“Hey, I was going to team up with him.”
“What? Do you guys not want to team up with me?” I asked in mock offense, looking between the two. With crossed arms and narrowed eyes, even.
“No offense, sweetheart, but he’s a jock. He’s sporty, and I want to win.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Wanna bet?”
“You sure about that challenge, sweetheart?” Dex asked, smirking, and I wanted nothing more than to swipe that smirk off his face at that very moment.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Winning team gets a wish granted by the losing team,” I offered, confident as my eyes flitted to Nero for a glimpse.
Dex’s smirk grew across his face, his eyes gleaming with a sense of optimism that he and Nero would win, and he then bit his lower lip as if to silently convey that the wish currently forming in his thoughts was of a more inappropriate nature. “You’re on.”
Oh, Dex. So quick to bait.
“Great! Combs, team up with me,” I said with so much confidence, and Nero only laughed, already making his way towards me while Dex had on a stupid shocked expression on his face.
That’s right, my love. His loyalty is to me. Suck it.
“What?! I called dibs!” Dex exclaimed, and I already had my arm looped around Nero’s, just in case Dex attempted to steal him away from me.
“You didn’t call dibs. You just went to his side, and then you made a bet with me.”
Siege scoffed, and I saw him rolling his eyes before his gaze landed on Nero as he pretended to whisper, “This is how they flirt, by the way.”
I moved my palm against the surface of the water, splashing Siege. “Get to your teammate, loser.”
Siege looked at me weirdly before swimming towards Dex on the other side of the pool.
“Does the C in your name stand for ‘competitive’?” Nero asked, looking down at me with an amused grin on his pretty face, and I realized just how inappropriately close we were to each other so I unlinked my arm from his. I took two steps sideways, trying to get more coverage on our side of the pool.
“We’d better win, Combs.”
The four of us went into position, with Dex serving the ball first, and just like that, the game began.
Surprisingly, the three boys ended up just as competitive as I was. They were really going for it, that I didn’t even have to do much.
The boyfriends vs. the best friend, it felt like.
“I got it, C!” Nero would call out for the nth time, coming to the left side of the pool, which was supposed to be my base, and hitting the ball back to the other side of the net.
He ended up doing great hitting it back; the ball flying across the net, and it hit the water as Dex and Siege scrambled to get it. Their miscommunication ended up with a point for Nero and me.
“Can you stop hogging the ball? I have a point to prove to my boyfriend,” I told Nero off, because despite our team having a lead, I didn’t like that I was barely helping with our scores.
Nero looked at me, raising an eyebrow. “What? Is that not why you chose me? To be your champion?”
“What? Because I’m a girl and I should sit pretty? Heck no! So, stop playing MVP and play on your side,” I said, pointing to the area of the pool where he should be as if he didn’t know where ‘his side’ was.
Instead of looking at me with annoyance, I saw Nero’s eyes soften as he looked at me, his hand coming up to ruffle my hair. “Fine, fine. No need to get your panties in a twist, C,” he said, before he pulled his hand away and treaded the water to go into position.
“Are you two done?” Dex asked with jealousy in his voice, and I rolled my eyes, telling him to serve.
After a few more hits, all of us calling out shots every now and then, the game finally ended, and as expected, Nero and I won.
